Tremble Beneath You
by Emi-Lea Deschanel
Summary: They had it all wrong.  It was always her, even in the beginning.  Set in season six, spoiler free.
1. Chapter 1

**Guys… I love fan fiction. But there's something missing from it that the show has that it annoys me to no end that I cannot find. So upon figuring out what it was, I decided to write it myself. This is **_**Tremble Beneath You**_**. It's a different style than I've written before, and its different than any other fanfic that I've read. Bear with me. **_**Rhapsody**_** is still in the works as well.**

**Tremble Beneath You**

**Chapter One**

She turned her head, not able to watch them any longer. It wasn't that she didn't like Hannah. How could she not? She was genuinely sweet. It wasn't that pretty girl's fault that Brennan had a problem expressing her feelings. Booth had simply caught her off guard. She should have known this would happen. After all, she said she knew he had to move on. She never told him she didn't want him to. How could she demand he wait for her to tell him she loved him? That wasn't fair.

When a shadow passed by her, Brennan looked up, noticing Booth sit down across from her. She put a smile on her face and pushed her emotions aside, unable to deal with them any longer. He smiled at her across the table. Brennan lifted her iced tea to her lips, effectively hiding the smile that slipped off her own face. She hated pretending.

"I'm going to marry her, Bones."

Brennan said nothing. She set the glass down, unable to fake a smile. Vainly she hoped Booth would just assume she was thinking how ridiculous marriage was. As if he could read her mind, he spoke again. "I know what you're thinking. You're thinking that monogamy is impossible in the human race. I get it. But Bones, I love her. I really, truly, love her."

Brennan pursed her lips. _Of course you love her,_ she thought. _The same way you loved me? Rebecca? Cam?_ Marriage really was ridiculous. If Booth's feelings changed so often in such a short amount of time, how did he know he was going to spend the rest of his life obligated to one other person? She thought of bringing that up, but instead she kept her mouth shut.

"Say something, Bones."

Brennan sighed. "I need to get back to the lab."

Booth raised his eyebrows. "That's it?" Brennan stood up and pulled her coat on.

"What do you want me to say, Booth?"

He stood up as well, helping her put her coat on. "I don't know. Maybe 'I'm happy for you'?" She turned to face him, her expression blank.

"I'm happy for you." Her voice was monotone. Booth frowned.

"Nice try. Maybe next time you could try actually meaning it."

Brennan buttoned the front of her coat up and started walking out of the diner. She could feel Booth hot on her tail. "I don't mean it," she said, stepping to the curb and flagging down a cab. Booth gently laid a hand on her arm, and once again, Brennan turned to look at him. His expression was concerned.

"What's wrong with you, Bones? You're not acting like yourself."

Brennan narrowed her eyes. "Nothing is wrong."

"Don't look me in the eyes and lie to my face. I know you better than that."

_Fine. I want you more than you could possibly know. I've wanted you since that day in the lecture hall at American University. And because I'm too much myself, I can't accept love. I can't accept that its possible to love only one person. And you wanted that chance and I couldn't take it. So you moved on. And I can't stand watching you with her._

"Really, Booth, I'm fine. I'm just tired." Her eyes attempted to soften. She didn't want him mad at her. They were already on edge enough as it was.

"Let me take you home then." He waved the cab on, putting his arm around her shoulders and leading her to the SUV. Brennan did not protest. She simply followed him, looking down at the sidewalk as they moved. He unlocked the passenger side door for her and opened it, helping her get inside. Brennan could tell he knew something was up. Usually his random acts of chivalry caused her to protest quite verbally. But tonight she was quiet. He closed the door behind her and she pulled the seatbelt on, resting her elbow against the door and her head on her hand. She heard him open the driver's side door and get in, but she didn't turn to look at him. She knew he was looking at her, as it took a while between him buckling his seatbelt and starting the vehicle.

The ride was silent. It was all Brennan could do to keep herself from crying. She wanted him to pull over. She wanted him to make her tell him what was on her mind. But wanting was fruitless. He did neither of those things. He didn't push her. Why wouldn't he push her?

When he pulled into her parking lot, he didn't idle the vehicle as she expected. He turned it off. She felt the heater stop warming her and the car still as the engine stopped. She made no move to get out. Neither did he. They were silent for a few moments more, before Booth broke the stillness.

"Are you going to tell me what's going on?"

Brennan looked down at her lap, where her hands were still. She lifted her head back up and looked at him, seeing the concern etched into his features. He was still as he waited for her. Brennan shook her head slightly, and sighed.

"I don't know what's wrong with me," she said.

"Bullshit."

"Excuse me?"

"Bullshit, Temperance. Don't lie to me." Her first name in his angry tone set her ablaze. She turned her head and faced forward. She couldn't even get mad at him. They both fell silent as he, once again, waited for her. He'd done a lot of that as of late.

Eventually, she shook her head.

She heard Booth sigh to her left. "Okay. Fine. You tell me when you're ready to tell me." Brennan did not reply. She simply reached down and unbuckled her seatbelt. She opened the door and stepped out, but stopped when Booth spoke again. "Temperance." His voice was still filled with concern. She peered into the car, looking at him through the darkness. "Promise you'll tell me."

Brennan moistened her lips, nodding slightly. "I promise." _When I'm ready, I'll tell you. I'll be ready when you're ready._

"Thank you. Goodnight, Bones."

"Goodnight, Booth." She pushed the door closed gently, and made her way into her building, disappearing from Booth's view. Once safely in her apartment, she made her way to a window before she flicked the lights on. She moved the curtains aside, looking to see if he was still there.

It wasn't until the SUV was gone did she turn away.

**Okay. Don't kill me. It's angsty and short, I know. It'll get better. Let me know what you think. The more reviews, the sooner the update.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Wow guys! I was overwhelmed with the response to the first chapter. I only hope that the rest can live up to that. I can tell you right now that this chapter is a lot lighter than the first one.**

**Oh, and Brennan says a phrase toward the beginning. Usually it's not something she would say, but since she used it correctly in the pilot, I figured it's okay to use it here.**

**Tremble Beneath You**

**Chapter Two**

The knock came softly at the door, followed by a familiar voice. "Sweetie?"

Brennan looked up from her laptop. "Come in, Angela." She was replying to some emails from her publisher and agent, as well as other forensic anthropologists. She hit send before opening the email following it. It was from Booth.

"Is now a good time to talk? I want to ask you something."

Brennan narrowed her eye at the email, still unsure if she wanted to read it. "Now is as good a time as any." She closed out of her inbox, not ready to deal with him today. Angela came in and sat on a corner of Brennan's desk.

"So you know its been almost a year since Hodgins and I got married…" Angela seemed almost nervous. Brennan looked at her curiously. "We didn't really have a proper wedding, except the one a few years ago that we left you and Booth at the alter at-"

"Angela, cut to the chase." She didn't want to be reminded of her and Booth standing at the alter. Marriage wasn't something she believed in the permanency of, but the thought of it didn't really leave her mind either.

"Okay, okay. Hodgins and I are going to have a real reception. And ceremony. With a wedding party, a pretty white dress, a bouquet… And I want you to be my maid of honor. Again." She smiled, and Brennan returned the smile. "The ceremony isn't going to be huge. There's only enough seating for like, fifty people, but the reception is going to be pretty big. And Booth is Hodgins' best man, so he'll be escorting you-"

Brennan sat up straight in her chair. "Wait," she interrupted. "Booth. Is the best man?"

Angela's eyebrows creased. "Yes, Bren. Just like the first wedding. Only a little different."

Brennan sighed. She didn't want to disappoint Angela by turning her down to be her maid of honor, but she didn't really want to be escorted by Booth either, not when he had a girlfriend who sat a table or two away. Angela caught on almost instantly. "I knew it!"

Brennan looked back up at her friend, her gaze having fallen with her thoughts. "Knew what?"

"You love Booth!" She clasped her hands together, a smile splayed out on her face.

Brennan stood up and smoothed her skirt out. "I do not."

Angela stood as well, albeit a bit more clumsily than Brennan, since the pregnancy was making her a little top heavy. "No, see? You're not looking at me. You're busying yourself with something trivial. You love Booth! Oh, Sweets is going to have a field day with this!"

Brennan groaned. "I hate psychology." She looked Angela square in the eye. "You cannot tell him, Angela. You can't."

Angela smirked. "Booth or Sweets?"

"Either! Booth has a girlfriend, and Sweets will just try to be a matchmaker and push me toward Booth, which will ultimately become the termination of our partnership and the demise of our friendship. You can't. Angela, I'm asking you as your best friend." The look of pleading in Brennan's eyes made Angela frown. Normally, it would have been a threatening look. But this one was different. There was fear.

"Alright," she said. "I won't." Brennan nodded in thanks, and Angela continued almost instantly. "But _you_ should." Brennan narrowed her eyes at Angela. _There_ was the look that she knew. "Okay okay. I get it. But will you? Be my maid of honor?"

Brennan smiled, previous argument momentarily forgotten. "Of course, Angela. You did not even have to ask. But I am glad you did."

Angela pulled Brennan into a hug. "Thank you, sweetie. And you really should tell Booth."

"Tell Booth what?" The gravelly voice came from the door. Brennan looked up and saw him standing there. She released Angela, who tried to hide the smirk on her face as she made her way to the door. She smiled at the FBI agent, and put her hand on his shoulder.

"Good luck, G-man." Booth made a face and opened his mouth to ask her why, but she'd already slipped out the door.

Brennan sat back down in her chair as Booth closed the office door. "Feeling better, Bones?"

She opened her inbox back up, hovering the cursor over the email Booth had sent her. "I was never feeling ill, Booth."

He came around to the back of her chair and put his hands on her shoulders. Feeling her privacy jeopardized, she closed out of her inbox again, but not before Booth saw she hadn't opened his email. "You know that's not what I meant. And you don't need to hide your email from me. I know you haven't opened mine." Brennan scoffed at him, standing up and grabbing a file off her desk, opening it and pretending to look at what was inside.

"My work doesn't revolve around you, Booth. I need to… I have skeletons to identify."

Booth frowned, taking the file from her and setting it down. "Bones. We need to talk." She picked the file back up and opened it, her eyebrows coming together as she noticed something wrong.

"I need Miss Holden…" Brennan stepped around Booth and opened her door, calling for her.

"Who is Miss Holden?" Booth asked, confused. Brennan looked at him.

"My intern." Through the door walked a tall girl, about nineteen, brunette, with red streaks and a nose ring.

"Dr. Brennan. You called for me?" She looked from Brennan to Booth, and back to Brennan again.

"Patience Holden, this is Special Agent Seeley Booth. Booth, this is my intern. Now…" Brennan handed Patience the folder. "I need you to reevaluate the X-Rays on the World War II skeleton. Tell me what was missed. Write it down."

"Yes, Dr. Brennan." The intern left quickly, as if being in the same proximity as an FBI agent made her nervous. Brennan frowned, knowing that her one way out of this conversation with Booth had just walked out the door.

"Alright, I get it, Bones. Take your time. Tell me when you're ready to tell me." Brennan sat down in her chair, and Booth leaned over the desk, right into her personal space. "But I'm still escorting you in Angela's wedding."

Brennan glared at him. "And what about Hannah?"

Booth stepped back and straightened up. "She'll be there. But she understands that you're the maid of honor and I'm the best man. Don't worry about her, Bones."

"Don't call me Bones."

Booth turned on his heel, laughed, and walked out of her office.

**This was pretty much a filler chapter. It'll get angst again soon!**


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